Fond du Lac County Health

Department Newsletter

Mission: Fond du Lac County Health Department prevents disease,

protects the community, and promotes healthy living for all.

What’s in the News?

Ap

ril-

Jun

e 2

019

Heat-Related Illnesses

With summer in full swing, it is important to stay cool as the weather gets hot! Without proper protection and hydration, heat-related illness can be-come deadly. In fact, more than 600 people in the United States are killed by extreme heat every year.

Who’s at higher risk? Infants and children, adults over 65, individuals who work outside, those who are overweight and those who have chronic illness-es are at a higher risk of heat-related illness. People 15-34 years old are most likely to visit the emergency room for heat-related illness, but older adults are most likely to be hospitalized.

Environmental Health

It’s Not the Chlorine in the Pool that’s Making Your Eyes Red… Have your eyes ever started to sting and turn red when you were swimming, playing, or relax-ing in a pool? Did you think it was because of the chlorine in the water? Have you ever walked into an indoor pool area, gotten a whiff of a strong chemical smell, and thought, “Wow, there’s a lot of chlorine in the pool?” It’s actually not the chlorine. You’re smelling a group of chemical compounds created when chlorine reacts with pee, poop, sweat, or dirt from swimmers. These chloramines irritate the eyes and respiratory tract, can aggravate asthma, and cause a strong chemical smell at indoor pools. These chloramines are different from the type of chloramine that is sometimes used to treat our drinking water. Popular Olympic swimmers have publicly admitted to peeing in the pool. They’ve laughed about it, and comedians have joked about it. But really, where else is it acceptable to pee in public? Mixing chlorine and pee, poop, sweat, or dirt not only creates chloramines—it also us-es up the chlorine in the pool, which would otherwise kill germs. These germs can get into the water when they wash off swimmers’ bodies or when infected swimmers have diarrheal inci-dents in the water. Just one diarrheal incident can release enough Cryptosporidium (or “Crypto” for short) germs into the water that swallowing a mouthful can cause diarrhea for up to 3 weeks. Even when the concentration of a pool disinfection chemical (chlorine or bromine) and the pH (which affects chlorine’s and bromine’s germ-killing power) are well maintained, germs aren’t instantly killed. Crypto, the leading cause of disease outbreaks linked to pools, can survive in an adequately chlorinated pool for days. In 2000–2014, more than 200 outbreaks in the Unit-ed States were caused by Crypto and linked to pools, water playgrounds, and hot tubs/spas. This is a reminder that the water we swim, play, and relax in and share is not germ free and this is why it’s important for each of us to do our part to keep germs, pee, poop, sweat, and dirt out of the water in the first place. Here are a few simple tips to keep swimming safe this summer:

Don’t swim if you are sick Shower before getting into the pool Don’t pee or poop in the pool Don’t swallow the water

These steps will help you protect yourself and loved ones while maximizing the health bene-fits of swimming. Healthy swimming is not just about the steps the pool operators and pool inspectors take. So let’s all do our part to help keep ourselves, our families, and our friends healthy this summer and year-round. Article Courtesy of CDC

Public Health Nursing

The United States in in the midst of the most severe measles outbreak since 1992. As of

June 21, there have been 1,077 cases in the US; and we are only halfway thru the year. Mea-

sles is highly contagious, it can remain in the air up to 2 hours after an infected person has

been in a room. It is a serious illness; about 1 in 5 people who develop measles require hos-

pitalization because of complications. Measles is spread through the air by coughing,

sneezing or talking.

Most of the cases in the US have occurred in children ages 1-5; in areas of the country with

groups of unvaccinated people, where measles spreads to many people. For example if 10

unvaccinated children are exposed to measles, nine of them would become ill with measles.

Locally, we see a trend of more parents opting out of having their children vaccinated. That

increases the risk in our community that measles would spread from one person to another.

Many people don’t realize that several countries in Europe have ongoing cases of measles,

and visitors may travel without realizing they could have been exposed to the disease.

If you have young children, please make sure they have had the recommended MMR

(measles mumps rubella) vaccine, usually administered at 12-15 months of age, and 1 addi-

tional dose after age 4. Two doses of the vaccine provide 97% protection If you were born

before 1957, you are considered to have natural immunity; because measles disease was so

common.

If you do not have a record of your own MMR vaccine; we encourage you to:

-Check the Wisconsin Immunization Registry https://www.dhfswir.org, which has been in use since the 1990’s.

-If as a child, you had vaccines at the Fond du Lac County Health Department, we can look for your records; call 920-929-3085 (Monday thru Friday, 8-4:30) Vaccine records from the 1970’s thru 2000 may be found, but may/may not be on the immunization registry.

-Call your healthcare provider’s office, and have them look for your records. Finding vac-cine records of adults is time-consuming; please do not expect an immediate answer.

-If you are unable to find documentation of a measles vaccine, then talk with your pro-vider about whether you should receive the vaccine, or have a blood test that can de-termine if you have immunity to measles.

Tobacco Prevention

Filip Troicki, MD, a Radiation Oncologist

with the Agnesian Cancer Center received

the Exemplary Leadership in Tobacco Pre-

vention and Control Award from the Five

Counties for Tobacco-Free Living Coali-

tion. Dr. Troicki received the honor during

the Coalition’s recent Annual Breakfast,

which had more than 60 community

members, as well as local and state leaders in attendance. The award recog-

nizes Dr. Troicki's commitment to youth tobacco prevention and control issues

within the community. In addition, Dr. Troicki provided a presentation at the

breakfast titled, “Electronic Smoking Devices: Addicting a New Generation.”

Congratulations, Dr. Troicki!

Save a Smile

Sports Drinks, Energy Drinks and Your Oral Health

A common misconception is that energy drinks and

sports drinks are a healthy choice. These drinks are

especially popular among teens and young adults.

Unfortunately, they cause damage to tooth enamel, increasing risk of decay.

Every time that we snack or sip on our sports drink we are not only feeding

ourselves but the bacteria in our mouth. These bacteria produce acid which

lowers the pH in our mouth and saliva. These drinks also contain acid for fla-

voring adding to the acid problem. As our mouth becomes more acidic the

mineral of our teeth begins to dissolve. Keep this up and small white patches

will develop on our teeth. Saliva returns the lost minerals to our teeth follow-

ing an acid attack. But it can only do so much. Eventually these demineralized

patches become holes (decay) needing repair from our favorite dentist.

Emergency Preparedness

Maternal Chilld Health

Fond du Lac County Health Department will be opening a

Sexual Health Clinic effective August 5th, 2019. It will be

on an appointment only basis. Call the Health Depart-

ment to make an appointment if you want to be tested

for Chlamydia or Gonorrhea. Treatment will be provided

here if positive, unless there are allergies to the medica-

tions. The cost of visits to the Sexual Health Clinic will be

income based. Payment will be on a sliding scale de-

pending on income. Assistance will be available to help

enroll in family planning to cover costs as well if needed.

Keep Your Cool in Hot Weather!

Heat-related deaths and illness are preventable, yet many

people die from extreme heat every single year.

Here are some tips to avoid overheating this summer!

Avoid being physically active when the sun is at its highest. The

best time to exercise and/or be active is early in the morning or

early evening.

Wear appropriate clothing. Lightweight and light-colored cloth-

ing along with sunscreen will help moderate your body heat.

Stay hydrated! Drink plenty of water even when you do not feel

thirsty. Heat=Sweat = Loss of water. Drinking water throughout

the day is the best way for you to avoid overheating and be-

coming dehydrated.

Take a cool shower. Cooler showers will reduce body tempera-

tures fast!

To learn more about ways to prevent heat-related illness,

please visit https://www.cdc.gov/disasters/extremeheat/

heattips.html

Women, Infants, and Children (WIC)

City/County Government Center 160 S. Macy Street, 3rd floor, Fond du Lac WI—(920) 929-3085

How to Reduce Waste & Save Money

It is estimated that over 90% of Americans throw out

food before it has truly expired and 1/3 of the United

States food supply is thrown out and unused due to

food dating.

5 Ways to Cut Down Food Waste:

1) Plan your meals – this will help make #2 easier.

2) Make a grocery list and stick to it – this will help

prevent you from buying too much of something

or buying things you do not need.

3) Organize your fridge so that food items that spoil

quicker are towards the front – which will help

you use those products first.

4) Love your leftovers – take leftovers for your lunch,

freeze leftovers for a later date, or even repurpose them for an-

other meal.

5) Remember, life is crazy – if a day’s meal plan changes, find ways to

save the food items not used. For example, if you were planning to

have chicken alfredo one night, but plans change – freeze the

chicken and broccoli for another week.